


I Was Born Under a Bad Sign, But You Saved My Life

by wayward_winter_soldier



Series: Cisco Ramon's Angst Playlist [7]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Abuse, Alternative Earth, Cisco Ramon Needs A Hug, Cisco Ramon Whump, Cisco Ramon is Vibe, Evil Versions of Beloved Characters, Gen, Hurt Cisco Ramon, Imprisonment, Non-Consensual Bondage, Slavery, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:36:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29709663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayward_winter_soldier/pseuds/wayward_winter_soldier
Summary: Harry and Cisco visit Earth-75 to pick up some spare parts and make a startling discovery
Relationships: Cisco Ramon & Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells
Series: Cisco Ramon's Angst Playlist [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2144382
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	I Was Born Under a Bad Sign, But You Saved My Life

Cisco always found running errands to alternative Earths an exciting activity. It was fun seeing the slight differences between the Earths. On every Earth they went to, Cisco and Harry met Harry's doppelganger, since the only reason they were even visiting said Earth was due to the fact that Harry had contacted his counterpart and asked if he had what they needed for their current project. Sometimes they met Cisco's doppelganger, but not always. When they did, though, Cisco enjoyed talking to his alternative self. They usually had a lot of main things in common, like their careers and love of pop culture. 

That day, when Harry walked into Cisco's workshop and informed him that they needed to go to Earth-75 to pick up a few things, Cisco excitedly packed his backpack with his Vibe gear and various other essentials that were good to have when traveling to different Earths, and met Harry in the Speed Lab, a smile on his face. 

"Ready?" Harry asked, his rifle slung across his chest. He never left Earth-1 without it, Cisco always noted, no matter if the Earth they were to visit was perfectly safe. 

"Totally," Cisco nodded, pushing his hand out and focusing on opening a Breach. The blue swirling lights released from his palm and a Breach was born, eagerly awaiting.

"Let's go, Ramon."

Cisco smiled once more and watched as Harry walked through first, Cisco following closely behind.

* * *

_**I've loved everything about you that hurts.** _

S.T.A.R. Labs of Earth-75 was identical to Earth-1's, Cisco thought as they arrived, Earth-75 Harrison Wells waiting for them when they arrived, a stern and non-nonsense look on his face. He wore an expensive suit making Harry's usually black T-shirt and black pants look terribly informal considering Harry was usually the most formally dressed on Earth-1's S.T.A.R. Labs. Earth-75 looked at Cisco in a disgusted tone, but it didn't last long so Cisco considered the fact that he might have imagined the whole thing. 

"Welcome gentlemen," Wells said stiffly. "To Earth-75."

Harry nodded and Cisco looked around, sort of hoping to find something that was drastically different on this Earth. He liked making notes of the differences for future reference. It was always nice to know what each Earth had that was unique to only it.

"I'm sure you know the way to the workshop. Our engineer will help you with whatever it is you need."

"Thank you," Harry replied, watching as his counterpart walked away, his hands clasped behind his back as he departed.

"Kinda a party pooper," Cisco noted, looking over at Harry as if expecting him to agree with him.

"C'mon," was all Harry said, grabbing Cisco's upper arm and pulling him along towards the hallway that led to the workshop.

"What exactly do we need anyway?"

"A certain tool. You don't have it on your Earth. I don't even have one on mine."

**_So let me see your moves, let me see your moves._ **

"Ohh, finally something your precious Earth-2 doesn't have," Cisco joked as the two walked down the familiar hall.

"Hilarious, Ramon," Harry noted sourly as they finally made their way to the room that was Cisco's workshop on Earth-1.

The room was slightly more crowded than Cisco's was. There were stacks of boxes on shelves that lined the walls, reaching the top of the ceiling. There were the usual desks filled with half-finished projects and computers open on various webpages. There was the murmur of a voice and the duo listened closely as they made their way through the maze of tech.

"Gideon, where'd I leave my sewing machine? The one for the super-suit fabrics?" A familiar voice asked.

"The fabrics shelf, second to the top," came the computer's reply.

"Thank you."

Cisco turned a corner and saw a figure reaching up to grab a box from a high shop, his short body obviously lacking the height to efficiently reach the object.

"Need help?"

The figure, startled by Harry's voice, jumped, almost tipping the shelf onto himself. He turned, his eyes wide.

"Oh," Earth-75 Cisco Ramon said lightly, pushing a strand of hair that had escaped his messy bun behind his ear. "You must be the Earth-1 visitors. I would tell you my name, but I'm assuming you already know it."

Earth-75 Cisco was pretty similar to himself, Cisco noted. But there were some differences. His long hair was tied up out of his face and he looked a bit skinnier. He didn't wear a graphic T-shirt and jeans as Cisco did; instead, he wore a S.T.A.R. Labs T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He looked nervous despite the calm demeanor he tried to have when talking to Harry and Cisco, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the side of his legs.

Earth-1 Cisco smiled brightly, holding his hand out to let his doppelganger shake it. "Nice to meet you."

75 Cisco looked a little wary at first, but finally took Cisco's hand in his own, shaking lightly as if he was afraid he would hurt Cisco.

Harry, for his part, retrieved the sewing machine box from the high shelf, placing it on a clear space on one of the desks.

"Oh, thank you very much!" 75 Cisco exclaimed as if Harry had just saved his life and not reached a box on a high shelf.

"No problem," Harry said, his voice bored. "You have the tool?"

75 Cisco rubbed the back of his neck, a frightened look on his face. "Good news, yeah. Bad news, it's broken."

"How can a tool be broken?"

75 Cisco flinched. Harry might have not noticed, but Cisco did and he frowned. 75 Cisco pulled a strange-looking machine out from a drawer and held it in his hands as if it were the only thing grounding him. "I'm sorry, Sir, I've been really busy lately-"

"It's fine, just hand it over, I'll work on it myself. You and Ramon can..." Harry trailed off as if he couldn't think of anything two Cisco Ramons could do together.

_**Lips pressed close to mine.** _

"Yes, sure I mean. I have some repairs to do to the Flash's suit."

"I can help! I repair my own Flash's suit all the time."

75 Cisco nodded, though he looked doubtful. Harry, who seemed satisfied, took the device from 75 Cisco's hands and disappeared into the depths of the towering shelves, leaving the two Cisco Ramons alone.

* * *

Cisco couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable 75 Cisco seemed. He didn't know why, either. Was it him? Had he never seen a doppelganger before? That was possible and it could be jarring the first time it happened. Cisco remembered the first time he ran into Reverb. It was a memorable experience, to say the least.

**_True blue, but the prince of any failing empire knows that._ **

"So, what's Earth-75 like?" Cisco finally asked, breaking the silence. "Any lizard people?"

75 Cisco widened his eyes. "No. Do _you_ have lizard people?"

Cisco laughed. "No. I was joking."

"Oh. Sorry."

75 Cisco went back to his sewing machine, the scarlet red suit of the Flash being run through it with careful precision. 

Cisco sighed. He had no idea how to get through to his counterpart. He had been so excited to possibly meet another him that he hadn't even realized that other him would be so anti-social and jumpy. None of his other doppelgangers were like this, he thought. 

Cisco was drawn out of his thoughts by loud footsteps approaching the two Ciscos.

**_Everybody wants, everybody wants._ **

"My suit better be done!" an angry voice rang out.

Cisco knew that voice.

Earth-75 Barry Allen appeared, looking between the two Ciscos before deciding which one was his. He made his way towards 75 Cisco, a furious look on his face that was enough to scare even Earth-1 Cisco, and he was not at the other end of his rage. The doppelganger flinched violently and Cisco furrowed his brows in confusion. Suddenly, Barry had grabbed 75 Cisco by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against one of the many shelves that lined the workshop walls.

"Hey!" Cisco protested, but 75 Barry paid no mind to him.

"My suit was supposed to be done three hours ago, Ramon! You know I need it for tonight."

"Yes, Sir! I'm sorry, Sir! There's been so much-"

"I don't want your excuses!"

**_To drive on through the night if it's the drive back home._ **

Cisco didn't know what to do. He wasn't sure if he should intervene or let the situation play out. Why was 75 Barry such a dick? The more time he spent on Earth-75 the more he found different from his own Earth. His Barry would never treat him like this.

"You have one hour. If it's not done by then you'll be sorry."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir!"

Barry dropped Cisco. He gave Earth-1 Cisco a particularly dirty look before leaving, his loud footsteps stomping away angrily. When Cisco no longer heard the stomping of Barry's Converse, he turned towards his counterpart, moving towards him to offer help. 75 Cisco flinched, though, and Cisco backed away, not wanting to scare him anymore.

"Cisco... what the hell was that? Why was Barry so mad at you?"

**_Things aren't the same anymore._ **

"He's always like that," 75 Cisco said as if Cisco had just said the stupidest thing in the world. "He has a right, though! I should have finished the suit! I just... there are so many other projects and-"

Cisco cut off the other one of him. "Not on my Earth. On my Earth, he's my friend."

75 Cisco looked at him doubtfully. "Really? You're friends with them?"

Cisco was even more confused now. "Them?"

75 Cisco looked down at his feet nervously. Cisco had just noticed that he was barefoot. "Dr. Snow and Dr. Wells and Mr. Allen."

"Yeah, they're my friends. What else would they be?"

75 Cisco's eyes darted up towards Cisco's eyes then down at his Earth-1 counterpart's ankle. "Nevermind. Forget it."

"No, tell me."

_**Some nights it gets so bad that I almost pick up the phone.** _

"I can't."

"Yes you can," Cisco argued. "I'm you, remember?"

"Not really. There are differences. A lot of them, I could list them if you'd like-"

"No, that's okay. Not so many," Cisco replied. "Not that many differences."

"More than you think."

"Then tell me. Please? Maybe I can help you."

There was a bitter laugh from 75 Cisco that sounded rather fake. "I doubt so."

Cisco half expected the counterpart to go back to his work. But instead, he looked around suspiciously as if someone could be lurking within the shelves and tech items. When he seemed satisfied that there were no spies or cameras or whatever it was that he had been looking for, he leaned down and rolled up the leg of his sweatpants.

_**Trade Baby Blues, for Wide-Eyed Browns.** _

It looked like something someone on house arrest might wear, but there was also a soft blue light emitting from it telling Cisco that it was a Meta dampener. One that he had never seen before, especially on one of his doppelgangers. 

"What the hell? What _is_ that?"

Earth-75 Cisco looked sheepish. "It takes my powers away so I can't use them to fight back. It also prevents me from leaving S.T.A.R. Labs. If I get past a certain distance, it sends a shock through my body."

Cisco was confused. "Why do you have that?"

"So they can keep me here. Make me build their stuff. They take it off sometimes when they want me to Vibe. It's like-"

"I know what Vibing is. I do it too. But I don't understand. They're our friends, why are they treating you like this?"

_**I sleep with your old shirts.** _

"They are not my friends," Earth-75 Cisco said in an almost dangerous voice. "They're my captives."

* * *

"Harry, we need to talk."

Harry looked up from his work, a neutral look on his face. "What, Ramon, I'm busy."

He had been working in a room that split off from the workshop, so Cisco doubted he had heard anything that had happened in the past few minutes.

"They're hurting Cisco here. They have him locked up and he can't leave. Harry, we have to do something."

"This isn't our Earth, we don't have to do anything."

**_And walk through this house in your shoes._ **

"That's an awful headspace to have and even you know it, Tin Man!"

Harry ignored Cisco, which was his usual move. This only made Cisco more pissed.

"Harry, c'mon, please. I saw what happened. I saw how this Earth's Barry treated him. It's probably not even the worse that they've done! They have a Meta dampener on his ankle and it also shocks him if he tries to leave S.T.A.R. Labs. Harry, he's here against his will!"

There was a loud noise of Harry throwing one of his tools aside. He turned to look at the shorter man, a look of exasperation across his face.

"What the hell are we supposed to do about it, Ramon? Change their minds? Cause that'll work. Not!"

"We can bring him back to Earth-1 with us."

"No. No, no, absolutely not, Ramon, are you insane?"

Cisco said nothing for a moment, not knowing exactly what to say at first.

"We can't just leave him here. They're hurting him."

**_I know it's strange._ **

"Ramon, there's nothing we can do. I'm sorry."

Cisco didn't reply. He simply walked away, deciding to go back to where his doppelganger was still working. He had really hoped he would have been able to convince Harry, though he knew it would have been hard. That wasn't the point, though. Cisco wasn't one to give up when things got hard.

He would just have to do this himself.

* * *

When Cisco got back to the workshop, Earth-75 Barry and Wells were waiting with 75 Cisco, who looked petrified. Cisco furrowed his eyebrows as he entered.

"What's going on here?"

"Cisco here says you have powers," Wells said, his face dark. "Powers like him."

Cisco didn't know what he should say. He couldn't deny it, could he? They had easy ways to figure it out after all. He knew he couldn't blame 75 Cisco for telling them. It wasn't his fault.

"Yeah," Cisco said finally. "So?"

"Well, we were just thinking," Barry smiles though it's anything but kind. "What's better than one engineer who can see the future?"

Cisco didn't like where any of this was going. He looked towards his counterpart. His eyes were filled with terror and tears, but he still mouthed a word to Cisco.

_Run._

Cisco didn't get very far. In fact, he had barely turned to escape before Barry had sped towards him, locking a Meta dampening cuff around his ankle. He was well and truly fucked.

"Two," Barry finished.

"My Earth's Wells is going to know," Cisco informed the Speedster as he roughly grabbed his upper arm, pulling him towards a door that Cisco recognized as leading to a separate hallway. 75 Wells and Cisco followed shortly behind.

"Oh, we know. We'll just say an accident occurred. There was nothing anyone could possibly do."

"You bastard!" Cisco sneered.

Barry slapped him roughly across the face. "You don't talk to me like that."

"I'll talk to you any way I want!"

_**It's a strange way of saying that I know I'm supposed to love you.** _

The hallway they walked down was not one Cisco was terribly familiar with. He only went down it to retrieve things from storage. He had converted the first few rooms into the majority of his storage, though, so he hardly went this far down the dark and foreboding hallway. They only seemed to stop when they arrived at a door near the end of the hall. Wells, letting go of 75 Cisco who he knew wouldn't try to run, took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. Barry shoved Cisco into it, not caring that the shorter man stumbled and fell to the hard tile floor.

75 Cisco came next, but he walked in willingly, the sad look still on his face.

"Get comfortable," Barry said in a voice that told Cisco he hoped he would do the opposite. With that, the door slammed shut and Cisco could hear it locking behind them.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

Cisco sat up, looking over towards his counterpart. He was devastated, tears pouring down his face as he spoke.

"Hey, it's okay. I don't blame you."

This seemed to do little to ease 75 Cisco, but at least he ceased crying. 

_**I've already given up on myself twice.** _

The room was pretty plain, Cisco noted as he looked around. There was a toilet in one corner, but no sink or mirror. Cisco had expected to see a bed of some sort, like a prison cell would have, but there was no other furniture, just a bundle of old blankets thrown in the adjacent corner from the toilet. That was obviously where this Earth's Cisco slept, he thought, rage boiling within him. How could anyone treat someone like this? Sure, they used to lock up Metas in cells, but they were much nicer than these, and besides, they had broken the law. 

"This is where you live?" Cisco wondered out-loud, his stomach twisting.

"Yeah," 75 Cisco answered. He had taken a seat, his back against the wall and his legs drawn up to his chest. "Ever since the particle accelerator went off."

"So, did you work here before?"

Cisco shook his head. "No, I was working at Mercury Labs. I went to the particle accelerator event, though. I was affected by the dark matter and became a Meta. S.T.A.R. Labs started hunting down all Meta-humans, not just the bad ones. They made this device that could detect a Meta. Dr. Wells came to my lab one day and it went off. I didn't even know what it meant. I didn't think I had Meta powers, I thought I was just having weird dreams. But then the military busted through and I was arrested. My boss and coworkers tried to stop them but it was useless."

"You were arrested just for being a Meta?"

75 Cisco nodded before continuing. "Turns out S.T.A.R. Labs was working with this military guy. General Eiling. They were capturing every Meta they could find and experimenting on them, seeing if they could be useful. I was deemed useful, I guess since I'm an engineer and because my powers turned out to be seeing things that could happen in the future. There was a disagreement between General Eiling and Dr. Wells, though. General Eiling took all the Metas to some military place. I'm not sure where exactly. Dr. Wells got to keep me, I guess. So here I stayed. They made me work on all their engineering projects, like building weapons to take down other Metas, hacking stuff to find Metas, making Mr. Allen a suit and tech so he could be the Flash."

"So, the Flash isn't actually a good guy here?"

75 Cisco shrugged. "Depends on your definition of a good guy, I guess. He stops robbers and bad Metas, and that's what the public sees. But behind the scenes, he's just taking any Meta off the street. I guess Dr. Wells must've smoothed things out with the General, though, because I heard he gets paid for every Meta he captures and gives to him. That's how S.T.A.R. Labs keeps running."

_**Third time is the charm.** _

Cisco felt like he might be sick. How could any of this be true? He couldn't believe it.

"But Barry's a Meta," he pointed out as if his doppelganger hadn't noticed that. "Why isn't he under lock and key?"

Earth-75 Cisco only shrugged once more. "I dunno. Maybe Dr. Wells likes him better. I try not to question things anymore."

* * *

Both Ciscos heard the lock turn and both stiffened at the sound. Cisco wasn't naive enough to think it was Harry coming to his rescue. He had been right before; he would have to do this himself.

Barry entered alone, closing the door behind him very slowly as if he hoped to prolonge their anxiety, which probably was the case. 

**_Threw caution to the wind but I've got a lousy arm._ **

There was something hiding behind Barry's back that Cisco couldn't quite make out.

"I think it's time you learn some manners," he said, his eyes on Earth-1 Cisco as he made his way over.

"Leave me alone," Cisco replied, hoping his voice didn't shake too much.

The object that Barry had been holding behind his back made its appearance. A whip. 

Cisco could feel his stomach tie into a knot at the sight of it. Cisco backed up, pushing his body as far away from Barry as he possibly could. He knew it didn't matter, especially when Barry sped towards him, grabbing him by the collar of his T-shirt and lifting him up. The whip was placed in a small holder on his belt as he started to vibrate his now-free hand dangerously close to Cisco's heart. 

Terrible memories Cisco wanted nothing more than to forget about rose within his mind and he winced, trying to get away from the Speedster. Barry seemed pleased with Cisco's fear, as he dropped him, not caring that he landed on the ground with a loud and painful thud.

"Take your shirt off," he ordered.

Cisco didn't want to do that at all, but he had no idea what would happen if he didn't. Would Barry hurt 75 Cisco? Would he make good on his vibrating hand threat? Cisco had no way of knowing. Maybe if he was lucky, Harry was looking for him. Maybe.

So he had no choice, he thought as he began removing his T-shirt, just now realizing how cold the room was. Or perhaps it was just his imagination. He wasn't so sure.

**_And I've traced your shadows on the wall._ **

There was no warning or preparation. The whip came down upon Cisco's bare back and he cried out in pain and surprise. He had never been whipped before. It was more painful than he could have imagined.

He no longer cared much about trying to keep a brave face. There was no point, after all. Anyone else in his position would let the terrible sobs rack their body and the salty tears fall down their face, landing on the ground like a light spring shower.

It went on and on and on and soon Cisco's cries were silent. He was too worn out to cry. Too tired.

"You deserve this," Barry told him many times as the whip came down once more, twice more, again and again and again.

_**Now I kiss them whenever I'm down, whenever I'm down.** _

"Get the hell away from him."

Cisco never thought he would be happy to hear the voice of Harry Wells. He also never thought he'd be more relieved to know that Harry brought his rifle everywhere.

The whipping paused as if Barry was unsure what he should do. That decision was quickly made for him as Harry shot the Speedster, who hadn't realized quickly enough that the man would actually shoot him, not just try to psych him out with the gun.

"Ramon!"

There was the sound of running feet and Cisco could feel Harry leaning over him. His face was pressed against the floor, his long hair scattered around his head, blocking his vision even when he lifted his head up ever-so-slightly.

Cisco could feel something moving by his ankle. Harry must be removing the dampener.

"Ramon, let's go home. Okay?"

Cisco didn't know if he nodded or said anything. He blacked out after that.

* * *

**_Figured on, not figuring myself out._ **

When Cisco blinked his eyes open once again, he was in S.T.A.R. Lab's medical bay. He wasn't laying on his back, he noticed, which caused all the memories to come flying back to him. 

"Hey, Cisco. How're you feeling?"

Caitlin stood next to his bed, her tablet in hand and a worried but kind expression on her face.

"I'm okay," Cisco replied, moving his body a bit into a more comfortable position. He wasn't much of a side-layer, he thought bitterly.

"Yeah, I have you on the good stuff."

"Thanks, Cait."

She smiled in response. "You have a visitor."

Cisco, assuming it would be Harry or someone else from Team Flash, nodded, looking expectedly towards the entrance.

He wasn't expecting to see himself, or rather, his Earth-75 doppelganger.

_**I was born under a bad sign, but you saved my life.** _

"Hey," Cisco said, a small smile on his face. "You're here."

"Yeah," 75 Cisco responded, taking a seat in a chair Caitlin had left waiting. "Dr. Wells- your Dr. Wells- had me open a Breach to your Earth so we could escape."

Cisco nodded. He didn't know 75 Cisco had opened a Breach. He honestly hadn't actually known how they'd gotten back, but he also didn't really think to ask or consider it at all.

"I'm sorry," 75 Cisco said, looking down at his feet that now had shoes. "This was all my fault."

_**That night on the roof of your hotel.** _

"Hey, no, this was not your fault, okay? None of it. There was nothing you could have done."

75 Cisco looked like he sort of wanted to protest, but he dropped the subject.

"Dr. Wells says I could go to his Earth. Earth-2. That there's not a Cisco there anymore, so I wouldn't have to worry about that."

Cisco nodded, knowing fully well that no Cisco Ramon remained on Earth-2. Not since Reverb's death.

"He said I could work at his S.T.A.R. Labs. As head engineer! He reassured me I wouldn't be a prisoner anymore, too. And, I mean, you trust him so..."

"He's a good guy," Cisco confirmed. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. You know, for everything. I couldn't have gotten away from them without you."

Cisco smiled at his counterpart. "Just keep in touch, huh?"

75 Cisco nodded, lingering for a moment more before leaving the room, passing Harry on his way into the medical bay.

_**"Cross my heart and hope to die, splinter from the headboard in my eye."** _

"Earth-2, huh? What happened to 'not our Earth, not our problem,' huh?"

Harry snorted lightly. "I change my mind sometimes."

"Rarely," Cisco pointed out.

"I dunno. Maybe he reminded me of you."

"We do look quite similar, I suppose."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Not that. He was just..."

"Vulnerable," Cisco finished.

"Yeah," Harry nodded, giving Cisco one of his rare smiles. "Something like that."

"Maybe the wizard gave you a heart after all."

Harry went back to glaring at Cisco.

_**Photo-proofed kisses I remember so well.** _

**Author's Note:**

> song featured in this fic is G.I.N.A.S.F.S by Fall Out Boy


End file.
